"I don't have a countermeasure," Ye Qiusuo said expressionlessly.
At this, even Song Jiren, who usually didn't interfere much in the management, couldn't sit still. "So we're just going to let them leave like this?"
"If they want to leave, we can only let them leave." On her way here, it wasn't that Ye Qiusuo hadn't thought about ways to stop them, but after weighing the options, letting them go was the fastest way to solve the problem. Besides, they could still get the penalty fees for breach of contract from two of them.
Those four had already made up their minds to leave. If the company refused to let them go, they wouldn't put their hearts into the project anyway. The two sides would just drag each other down, and in the end, it would be Tianqiu that suffered the drain. Not to mention, their opponent was the powerful and influential Lu Corporation. Even if you ignored everything else, they had plenty of money; they could easily bleed Tianqiu dry just by dragging things out.
Lu Minglang hadn't inherited the Lu Corporation that long ago, and he was eager to produce results. He had set his sights on Tianqiu Technology, but there was one thing he hadn't yet figured out. For Tianqiu Technology to have come this far, the researchers were no longer an irreplaceable part of it. The perfect experimental system and equipment of Tianqiu Technology alone would attract countless outstanding researchers who genuinely wanted to do research.
Perhaps by poaching the crucial projects of Tianqiu Technology for the next few years, he might cause Tianqiu Technology some painful muscle-tearing damage, but it wasn't enough to strike at the bone.
Especially since Lu Minglang's actions were too aggressive. With four people leaving at once, she couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
"Regarding the project part, the researchers' contracts need to be amended. I'll finish revising them tonight and post them on the company's intranet," Ye Qiusuo informed the shareholders.
"Even if we change it now, what about Tianqiu's interests over the next few years?" another shareholder asked in a bad mood. "Those four are still going to take the projects with them."
Ye Qiusuo lightly tapped the fountain pen on the desk with her finger and said calmly, "Starting from four years ago, the patent applicant for all projects has been Tianqiu Technology."
Most of the people at Tianqiu Technology were researchers who liked to bury themselves in their work. So, to save them time, a vote was held four years ago to have Tianqiu Technology uniformly apply for patent rights.
The inventors could enjoy the right of authorship and the right to receive rewards, but the patent rights belonged to Tianqiu Technology.
Song Jiren was the first to react. "Do you mean the company will continue these projects and have someone else take over?"
Tianqiu Technology had backups of all the materials those four had taken with them. Although they had single-handedly advanced these projects, all the materials were now readily available. It wasn't impossible to have someone else take over; they just needed to find people more outstanding than them and strive to complete the projects before them.
"Is it that easy to find suitable people to take over?" the other shareholders instinctively poured cold water on the idea. The reason those four dared to leave so arrogantly was because they were the cream of the crop in their field. Who knew what massive benefits the Lu Corporation had promised to poach them all at once.
Ye Qiusuo looked up at that shareholder. "I will handle this matter. You just need to collect your dividends."
The shareholder instantly fell silent. Everyone present knew exactly how Zhang Chengjue had left.
...
"Brother Xi, Lake has an official release date. It's premiering in theaters next Wednesday," Zhang Dong came over excitedly, holding his phone.
"Find someone else to watch the movie with you. I'm not interested." Xie Xi turned his back to Zhang Dong, holding Ye Qiusuo's calligraphy copybook in his hand, looking at the object and thinking of the person.
Zhang Dong walked around to face Xie Xi and said seriously again, "Brother Xi, it's Lake! The movie that both you and Professor Ye are in."
Xie Xi's hand, which was flipping through the copybook, paused. He slowly looked up. "Book two tickets. I'm going to watch it."
"Brother Xi, I've already booked two." Zhang Dong felt he was a very competent assistant.
"Mhm, give these two to me, and go book another one for yourself. Don't sit too close to us," Xie Xi instructed.
Zhang Dong: "..." He had forgotten. His Brother Xi was definitely going to invite Professor Ye.
However...
"Brother Xi, how about booking the whole theater? You and Professor Ye can watch it alone, and it reduces the risk of being discovered."
"No booking the whole theater. We'll just go to the cinema a bit late that day." Xie Xi wanted to sit together with Ye Qiusuo in the crowd.
Zhang Dong opened his phone to book a seat for himself. Going into that screening now, only the corner seats were left. It didn't matter, as long as he could see the movie.
"Brother Xi, do you think Professor Ye will agree to go since she's so busy?" Zhang Dong asked a heart-piercing question after buying his ticket.
Xie Xi: Couldn't he just fantasize about it first?
"I'll call and ask." The big star Xie nervously dialed Ye Qiusuo's number.
No one answered.
He could only send Ye Qiusuo a message, asking if she was free next Wednesday, as he had bought two premiere tickets for Lake.
It was about three hours later when Ye Qiusuo finally replied to Xie Xi: [What time?]
Professor Ye had twenty-four hours a day, and every block of time was planned out.
Xie Xi asked cautiously: [From 7 PM to 9 PM, or later is fine too.]
Next Wednesday at 7 PM she should be working at home. Sparing two hours... wasn't entirely impossible.
Ye Qiusuo: [Does the movie start at 7?]
Seeing this message, Xie Xi's heart settled a bit. Was there hope?
Xie Xi: [Starts at 7, ends at 8:55.]
Ye Qiusuo: [Okay.]
Xie Xi stared at that word for a long time, and a starry smile gradually rippled in his eyes.
As for Ye Qiusuo, she put down her phone and wondered why she had agreed to go to the movies with Xie Xi. Even though she had appeared in Lake, she didn't really care much about it.
It was probably because she had been under a lot of pressure lately, and her instinct was to relax for a few hours.
Professor Ye judged her own behavior in her heart.
...
During class these past two days, Ye Qiusuo clearly felt that her students were a bit restless. They listened attentively enough during the lecture, but during the ten-minute break, several students were exchanging glances, especially led by Sun Jiajia.
However, as long as they paid attention in class, Professor Ye didn't care what they did in private.
"That's all for today's class. If you have any questions, you can email me." Ye Qiusuo packed up her teaching materials and left the classroom.
As soon as their mentor left, the few of them immediately packed their things, having absolutely no intention of discussing their studies today.
Sun Jiajia hopped in place twice. "Where are we going to eat later?"
"I know a nice seafood restaurant that opened recently. Are any of you allergic to seafood? If not, how about we go there?" Lin Lu asked.
All four said no.
"But a seafood restaurant sounds expensive," Sun Jiajia rubbed her chin. "I'm trading five movie tickets for you to treat us to dinner. Aren't you losing out on this?"
"Let's go, as long as it's delicious," Lin Lu waved his hand dismissively.
A couple of days ago, Sun Jiajia bought five movie tickets, saying it was her idol Xie Xi's first time acting in a movie, and demanded that the four of them must go support him with her.
Since they were planning it anyway, they decided to just make it a post-New Year dinner gathering, and then go watch the movie.
...
On the other side, Ye Qiusuo also went home for a bit and conveniently handled a few matters sent over by the company. At 6:30, Xie Xi's car parked punctually downstairs in her residential complex to pick her up.
Actually, Xie Xi had already arrived nearby at 6:00, but waited half an hour to pretend he had just arrived.
Before this, Xie Xi had made a special trip home early in the morning, bringing back two large boxes of pastries. He had asked the cook to prepare a fresh batch of every single pastry that Ye Qiusuo had taken an extra bite of last time.
When Ye Qiusuo came downstairs and saw their car parked outside, she walked over and knocked on the window.
Xie Xi immediately opened the door and slid over to make room for her to get in.
Ye Qiusuo got in and closed the door, noticing that the privacy partition had been raised, blocking the view of the front seats.
"Zhang Dong is driving," Xie Xi explained instinctively, catching Ye Qiusuo's gaze.
"Mm."
Xie Xi felt a bit nervous. With the partition up, the space suddenly felt much smaller, leaving just the two of them together in the back.
His hands slipped a few times as he reached for the pastry box. He finally managed to get a steady grip, opened it, and offered it to Ye Qiusuo.
"I brought these from home. Try some." Xie Xi had considered taking Ye Qiusuo to a restaurant after the movie, but on second thought, he realized he was already taking up over two hours of her time. She usually rushed through her meals as it was, and he didn't want to hold up her work any further.
Ye Qiusuo hadn't eaten dinner since leaving the university. Remembering her movie plans with Xie Xi, she had rushed to finish her work and naturally skipped eating.
The two of them sat in the backseat, quietly sharing the pastries, with the muffled sound of car horns occasionally drifting in from outside the windows.
It was already six fifty-seven by the time they arrived at the theater. Zhang Dong ran off to print the tickets, handing them each one upon his return while keeping the ticket for the most cornered seat for himself.
The lights were already off when they entered, so the three of them used the faint glow from the screen to find their seats.
Xie Xi was wearing a face mask and an orange beanie; in the darkness, no one noticed him.
He stole a quiet glance at Ye Qiusuo, just as she inadvertently looked his way.
The screen darkened at that moment, but Xie Xi's heart still skipped a beat. The audience fell silent, and he could clearly hear his own rapid heartbeat.
The movie began. The main characters of "The Lake" were You Feibai and Li Yandie, so naturally, the first ten or so minutes focused on them.
Ever since the movie's release date was announced, a third of the audience had come for You Feibai, another third came to see Xie Xi's silver screen debut, and the rest were fans of the other cast members.
Around the twenty-minute mark, the main characters entered the joint academy for their studies, where several distinguished professors imparted their knowledge. When a certain figure appeared on screen, a slight commotion rippled through the theater.
The commotion from a few people in the eighth row was particularly noticeable.
"Holy crap, is that our advisor?!" Lin Lu choked on a piece of popcorn, nearly gagging himself to death.
Ding Hong stared at their advisor on the screen in astonishment. They had only come to the movies today because Sun Jiajia wanted to see Xie Xi. They were merely tagging along, completely unprepared to see their advisor in the film.
As for Sun Jiajia, she was already pinching her philtrum. The rush of excitement had hit her so fast she nearly passed out.
"When did our advisor film a movie with Xixi? Sob sob sob, I'm alive again!" Sun Jiajia was moved to tears.
Since the movie starred both You Feibai and Xie Xi, the director had focused the promotional campaign entirely on them, completely leaving Ye Qiusuo out of it. Most people had no idea she was in it, making her appearance a nice little surprise.
Down in the sixth row, Xie Xi was also staring intently at Ye Qiusuo on the screen, unwilling to even blink.
He just felt a little sour inside. He and Ye Qiusuo didn't share any scenes; all of her interactions were with You Feibai.
When Ye Qiusuo finally disappeared from the screen, Xie Xi couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Hearing him, Ye Qiusuo turned her head and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
"Professor, you acted really well," Xie Xi replied, changing the subject.
"I was just teaching," Ye Qiusuo said. She didn't feel like she was acting at all; she was simply recreating what she normally did in class, just with different subject matter.
The movie continued. The moment the opera singer made his entrance, screams began to erupt throughout the theater. And when the classic scene of Xie Xi holding a cat and gazing into the distance appeared, the audience was filled with endless screams and gasps.
